


the song is ended (but the melody lingers on)

by historicnerd



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: BAMF Klaus Hargreeves, Canon-Typical Violence, Dave Is Alive, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Klaus Hargreeves Needs A Hug, Telekinetic Klaus Hargreeves, Time Travel, our boys are reunited, the apocalypse never happened, the commission is back, the hargreeves are learning to be a family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-09
Updated: 2020-08-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:22:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24801541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/historicnerd/pseuds/historicnerd
Summary: With the apocalypse averted, the Commission must find a new way around the watchful eyes of Five Hargreeves and the newly trained Vanya. The answer? Find the next weakest link and weasel their way into his head.orThe Commission goes back in time to save Dave's life, only for them to use him to get to Klaus.
Relationships: Dave/Klaus Hargreeves, The Hargreeves Family
Comments: 31
Kudos: 165





	1. only the beginning

The world danced before him in a flurry of over-exposed lights and garbled sounds.

A man was bent over him. His blurry face showed some expression of worry, and his mouth was moving quickly, but he couldn’t make out what he was saying. He felt the feather-light touches on his cheeks, forehead, neck, and even his chest, and he started to hear the muffled shouts for a medic. The man turned back to him, and in a moment of clarity, his eyes focused on him. Dark shaggy hair, a face streaked with grime and blood and tears, his mouth trying to form words of comfort that just wouldn’t come out. 

_Klaus._ His chest heaved as he continued to call for help. But no one would come.

His own eyes began to water. He tried to take a breath but felt it gargle in the back of his throat with warm blood that spilled over his lips and instead tried to offer Klaus a warm smile. Klaus let out a watery laugh and tried his best to comfort him, despite both of them realizing that this was very much it. As soon as the echoey battle sounds around them died out, someone would come looking for Klaus and drag him off to the next event, leaving him here to finally fade.

But as Klaus finally found his voice and whispered a final “I love you”, he felt his chest seize up, and he finally let go.

He assumed the flash of blue across from him was simply a trick of the light as his life slipped away from him, but suddenly, he felt hands on him. He let his eyes slip shut as another bright flash of blue encircled him.

The new room was bright white beneath his eyelids and rather quiet, save for the gentle beep of machinery. _Was this heaven? Was this really it?_ He could feel the small thump of his heartbeat in his chest... _was that normal for the afterlife? Or…?_

Dave’s eyes opened again. 

(<)

The Commission had ways of making things happen, whether it’s a time-traveling assassin precisely placed to make sure a war starts, or an agent slipping an idea to a citizen to spark an uprising or invention. If an event was marked on their time-line, it happened. So when April first came and went, the new Handler was not happy. She had a massive legacy to live up to, not to mention rebuilding the Commission to its former glory.

The agents seemed to sense her dissatisfaction as they murmured to one another about how the apocalypse could have been averted or what the next plan was. No one had an answer until the Handler made her presence known in her key crew’s office. Someone finally decided to find an answer.

“Ma’am, what do we do now?” he asked while she was facing the window.

The woman stilled for a moment before turning to face him, a cold smile on her face. “We find the new weakest link.”

The office fell into silence before someone else, a woman, spoke up. “And how do we do that?”

The cold smile never left the Handler’s face as she placed a file onto the questioner’s desk. “We already have.”

The woman peeked at the folder’s label. _VIETNAM, 1968._ She gasped softly, a hand ghosting over the file before she pulled it back and brought her attention to Handler again.

“The plan is simple, really,” the Handler said, addressing the room calmly like she was about to announce lunch plans. “We send an agent to retrieve Mr. Katz, and use him to lure our weak link away from the rest of the Hargreeves.”

The room had an exciting buzz masked underneath its quietness, agents turning to one another with smiles.

“Is that understood?” the woman asked.

A chorus of “yes ma’ams” filled the room before the woman smiled and left the room. The agents all gathered around the folder to see the specific details of the plan before they sat at their desks once more and got to work.

Five may have stopped the apocalypse once, but they would make sure he would never see their second attempt coming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay...so i've had this idea for a while now, especially after seeing a post about the commission saving dave (because they obviously have the tech) and using him to get to the hargeeves again (if i can find it again I'll link it!!) anywho...we'll see where i go with this, so i hope you'll tag along :)


	2. a pain in my heart that won't go away

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> title from “forever free” by christy ann martin  
> "there’s an empty space where you used to lay, and a pain in my heart that won’t go away"
> 
> also, this is an au where they averted the apocalypse by not locking vanya in her cage because fuck that! alright...enjoy!

The Hargreeves welcomed the morning of April second with bright smiles and a family breakfast, courtesy of Grace. They all sat down together silently and when they realized they all, in fact, were alive and well, they broke into smiles. Even Five was a part of the 'celebrationʼ offering a quick but genuine smile before he relaxed in his chair, happy that his job was over with. Now, all he had to worry about was any future counter-attacks the commission might try to make, but that would be much easier than having to map out timelines and run hundreds of equations to make sure that everything would be done correctly to prevent the horror he had spent forty-five years of his life in, not to mention the Commission still had to rebuild after his impromptu bombing.

Grace offered a simple smile as well, even though she had no idea what the occasion was, and instead whipped up a breakfast for her six (seven) children, delighted at their bright moods. They spent the morning together simply enjoying one another’s presence and leaning into the fact that they were (hopefully) going to (try to) become a family again.

Five ended the morning with a little speech. He expressed his thanks in a very Five manner (“Thank you for not being idiots and actually working together for once. We, somehow, saved the world.”) and then went over the next steps (“The Commission won’t take this lightly. We might have a few weeks, hell, maybe even months, but I know that they will come back with something stronger.”) He recommended everyone stay at the academy for the next month or so in order to keep an eye on one another, help Vanya, and learn how to be an actual family (for once).

That had been almost two weeks ago and Klaus was already fed up with everyone staying at the academy. He was, for the first time in many years (not including his ten months in Vietnam), painfully sober and trying his best to learn his way around his own growing powers. He spent many days trying to push away unwanted spirits and find the blissful silence he had only found with drugs before. He was also working on making, and keeping, Ben corporeal so that he could take part in all the family activities, now that his family actually believed him about Ben.

Not only that, but Klaus had a lot else under his skin. The lingering PTSD from his time in the mausoleum as a kid and his time in Vietnam. The heartbreak he still felt from having the love of his life die in his arms. The spike of anxiety that hit him every time Five mentioned the Commission coming after them again (he did not need another Hazel and Cha-Cha situation). Klaus was a bit of a mess, but instead of using this time to talk to his family about everything that had been going on, he pushed it all down and plastered fake smiles on his face and scraped up the little energy he seemed to have these days to make the snarky remarks his family expected from him, (after all, it’s what he does best.) The Hargreeves were mostly focused on Vanya and her “brand new” powers, so Klaus understood that he was probably going to be on his own, save for Ben, when it came to his new powers and his emotional turmoil.

He hid in his room or the attic when he was practicing making Ben corporeal, smiles on both boys’ faces when Ben finally made contact with something. His hands gripped Klaus’ shoulders, or pushed a window open, or grabbed new books that he had been itching to read ( _“What a nerd,” Klaus had teased_ ). 

He hadn’t told anyone when he was finally able to push a spirit away from him. Feeling a tingling in his arms and hands, he had shot a hand out and watched as the ghost crumbled away, leaving the room empty. He hadn’t been able to do it since but knowing that he could gave him hope and kept him practicing.

He definitely hadn’t told anyone about the time he woke up a foot above his bed. Despite lacking a realistic explanation, Klaus had waved Ben’s worries away and tried his best to ignore the situation. He hadn’t recreated the feat, so it obviously was a fluke, nothing to be concerned over. And he kept quiet about the time he had been able to move Ben’s book off the desk and shut his door without touching it. Ben had gasped. ( _“You--you just...Klaus!”_ ) Klaus had shrugged, _the window was open, it was just a breeze, it’s nothing, Ben, calm down._

His powers, however, were the least of his concerns. Just the other night, someone had dropped a bowl in the kitchen while they were making dinner, and the resounding echo sounded a bit too much like a bomb going off in the distance. Klaus was somehow able to scramble his way out of there and up to his room before panic finally seized him and he crumpled into a ball by his bed, hands flying to his ears while he stuttered through breathes. Ben tried his best to ground him (“Klaus? You’re okay. You’re at the academy. You’re safe. Reach behind you, you’re gonna feel your bed, okay? You’re not back there.”) and after a while, Klaus finally got his breathing under control. 

When all was said and done, Klaus simply crawled into his bed and called it a night, ignoring the soft knocks at his door. Diego had asked him the next morning where he was during dinner but didn’t push when Klaus shrugged and said his stomach was bugging him, but he was fine. Thankfully, no one brought it up again.

After another rough night, Klaus was curled up under his blankets, headphones turned all the way up and placed beside him so he could listen to Ben and his music. Ben had plopped himself into Klaus’ desk chair with a book in his hand, and would occasionally make a stupid comment, letting Klaus know that he was still there with him. The act was small, but Klaus loved that his brother was starting to understand that sometimes, all he needed was to be in the same room as someone else. They could be doing two different tasks, perhaps not even talking to one another, but having another presence in the room that wasn’t a ghost (or...a bad ghost, in Ben’s case) was relaxing to Klaus in a way that was hard for him to explain.

“I’m really starting to get fed up with this Elisabeth,” Ben mumbled, turning the page with a shake of his head. Klaus ripped his gaze from the ceiling to look at Ben.

“What did she do now?” he asked with a small smirk.

Ben rolled his eyes. “She just accepted this absolute dick’s proposal.”

“Isn’t she a lesbian?”

“My point exactly.” 

Klaus chuckled. “What can I say? History really hates the gays.” Ben nodded, an eyebrow raised, and flipped the page again. The room settled back into its almost-silent state. Klaus rolled over, eyes trailing to look at the newest addition on his wall. A grainy photo of a group of men, all clad in olive fatigues, sweaty but smiling. Two men had their arms slung around one another while the others held their guns tightly. Another photo, albeit blurry, centered on two men, sitting in front of a bonfire, one with a guitar held loosely in his hands, the other mid clap, mouth frozen open in a laugh. One more, the same group of men stood in front of a bus, faces serious and stained with dirt and blood. _The 173rd._ Klaus rested his gaze on one man, in particular, a smile ghosting his lips. _Dave._

He had begged Five for his help a week into the not-pocalypse, and only after promising to buy him some quality coffee, Five had agreed. He posed as a freshman doing a report on the Vietnam War and had asked for a copy of the photo in the VFW. He flipped through an armful of books in the library and was able to make photocopies of those as well, and a few hours later, Klaus had taped them to his wall with damp eyes. His other siblings didn’t quite understand, but Diego had placed a hand on his shoulder and given him a small smile. Klaus had shooed them out of his room and spent the next three hours trying to conjure Dave. He crawled into his bed after three hours of nothing with tears in his eyes and down his cheeks, and a painful aching in his chest.

His eyes were glistening when Ben looked up from his book again. “You okay?”

Klaus shook himself from his trance and scrubbed at his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. I’m fine.”

“I know I’ve said this a thousand times but you can tell me how you’re really feeling bro.”

Klaus nodded. “I know. Just miss him is all.”

Ben nodded. “Yeah.” He stared at his brother a second longer before he returned to his book. Klaus took a breath and rubbed at his eyes again. He moved his walkman to his nightstand and turned the volume down slightly. With a click, the lamp was turned off and the remaining fairy lights bathed his room in soft orange light.

“I’m calling it a night,” he mumbled, wrapping his blankets around his shoulders. The soft music from his bedside table and the occasional page turns lulled him into a restless sleep.

(<)

The man rubbed at his eyes tiredly. He most definitely loved his job, but being assigned the Watchman in this case? Not the most enthralling assignment he’s worked on. Honestly, who wanted to be assigned to the big screens watching a man try and adjust to a new life, all while struggling with new powers and old traumas? It could be exciting if the man was at least sleeping and not exhausted at all hours of the day, or if he ever left the house with the rest of his siblings.

He sighed and made a note as the man rolled over in his bed. [02:49] He assumed the man was sleeping and marked the movement as such. He had just had a brief conversation with who the man could only assume was his dead brother, but a smile crawled on the man’s face when his subject had fallen into a trance looking at photos of him and his love. 

Unbeknownst to him, his love was being tended to in the next room over, lungs breathing and heart beating. The new Handler had really planned everything out to a T, and the man was excited to see the new plan finally spring into action, even if it meant a few more days of keeping a strict eye on the subject.

The door behind him opened with a soft click, and he turned in time to see the Handler enter the room. She had a smile on her face and her hands clasped behind her back.

“Mr. Katz has pulled through nicely, might not even scar, if you can believe it.”

The man grinned, “That’s great to hear ma’am!” 

“It sure is. And as soon as we can get him... _situated_ , we’ll be ready to send him to the Academy.”

“Oh, sooner than expected?” he asked, pen at the ready to make a note in his report.

“Much sooner.” 

“Incredible.”

The Handler took a step closer to the screens and peered at the subject, bundled under two blankets, and shifting in his sleep. Her grin widened. “It is indeed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wanted to get these two parts up, but it might be a minute before the next update because i want to have a few chapters as a cushion when my adhd inevitably makes me lose all focus in this story and gives me a horrible case of writer's block. i hope you guys can understand!


	3. don't be too sad, don't worry my dear

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this isn't edited so sorry for any mistakes!

Sunlight streamed through the half-open curtains, dust dancing in the air. The room was rather quiet, sounds of traffic and life downstairs the only things that could be heard. Klaus turned in his sleep, hands twitching before he finally fell onto his back with a sigh. He sat there for a moment, eyes still shut, before he rolled over and squinted at the clock across the room.

“It’s almost eight,” a voice said from the other wall. Ben sat on the desk, his book set beside him, bookmark on top.

“Oh, well isn’t that lovely,” Klaus mumbled, rubbing at his face. “Did you finish your book?”

“Yeah,” Ben chuckled softly. “Elisabeth, that genius, married the guy only for him to die a week later.”

“We love that for her.”

“She gets his estate and everything. Honestly? Kinda iconic.”

“Pulled a full-on Double Indemnity, huh?” That drew a laugh out of Ben and Klaus offered a tired smile. “Alright, I probably won’t be falling asleep anytime soon.” With a huff, he spun his legs off the side of the bed and pulled himself to his feet.

“I think Diego and Vanya are up and about,” Ben said, standing from his spot at the desk. Klaus nodded as he slipped a baggy tie-dye shirt over tight leggings.

“Great! People to bug,” he said with a smirk before making his way to the kitchen. 

Sure enough, Diego and Vanya were both in the room. Vanya nursed a cup of tea while she read an article on her phone. Diego did the same with a cup of coffee, sharpening one of his knives. Grace hummed happily in front of the stove, eggs, and sausage sizzling in a pan. Klaus smiled as he made his way to the table before falling into a seat.

“Good morning, my dearest siblings,” he said. Vanya looked up from her phone.

“Morning Klaus,” she said with a smile. Diego gave him a slight nod and a grunt of acknowledgment before looking back down at his knife.

“So, Vanny, what are your plans for the day?”

“Oh, um, I think Five and I are gonna start plotting out an actual training plan.” 

Diego snorted. “We think we finally found all of dad’s notebooks.”

“We hope we found all of them,” Vanya said with a laugh. Klaus chuckled as Grace turned to the table.

“Well, that’s great!”

Grace placed three plates on the table and started serving her children breakfast. The conversation died down as the three of them ate, and before Klaus knew it, he was placing his dish in the sink and escaping back upstairs to his room.

“Alright, Benarino, you ready?”

Ben nodded. His smile widened as he began to glow a deep blue.

(>)

Dave opened his eyes to bright lights and a sterile white room.

He wasn’t sure where he was, and he wasn’t entirely sure how he got there either. The last thing he remembered was bleeding out on the floor of a Vietnamese jungle with the love of his life sobbing over him. Speaking of, he placed a hand over his chest and found that, surprisingly, it didn’t hurt to press down on. He slowly shifted himself upwards and peered down at the bandage over his chest. It was a clean white, and when he peeled it back slightly, there was barely a sign that a bullet had pierced his skin in the first place.

His mind swam with different thoughts, but before he could start to consider what had happened, a blonde woman walked into the room with a man (a doctor, Dave assumed from the lab coat) behind her. He checked his watch and scribbled a note on his clipboard.

“Hello there Dave,” the woman said with a grin. She held a hand out for Dave to shake, and he hesitantly took it. She gave it a firm shake before letting go. “It is so wonderful to finally meet you!”

Dave blinked at the woman. “Do-do I know you?”

She laughed. “Well, not quite. All that you need to know is that I saved your life. And, that I’m in charge around here.”

“And where exactly is ‘here?’”

“That would be what we call ourselves, the Commission!” she said excitedly. “Think of us as the people who keep time running as it should.”

Dave nodded. “So you...took me from Vietnam?”

“Correct, we just had to wait for your friend to leave so we could swoop in to save you. You see, you weren’t supposed to die just yet, the world has big plans for you yet.”

That got a smile out of Dave. “Wait, so Klaus is okay?”

The Handler glanced at the man behind her, who nodded. “He made it back home alive, and we’d like the same thing for you!”

“Okay,” Dave said with a smile. “So how do we do that?”

The man scribbled something else down before he handed the woman the paper with a smile. Her eyes glanced at the document before she herself smiled.

“We just have one small favor to ask of you…”

“Yeah, anything,” Dave said. A knock at the door took the attention of the silent man, who stepped away only to return with a bag of clothing. He handed it to Dave, who took it, slightly confused.

“Wonderful! Here’s the plan--”

(<)

The doorbell echoed through the vast house, and Five was almost able to ignore it. Almost. But, it was half-past eight and this was the Umbrella Academy: no one just randomly showed up on the porch. So with a sigh and a few select curses mumbled to himself, he popped away from the family dinner and swung the massive oak door open. An unfamiliar man greeted him.

“Who the hell are you?” Five asked, taking the man’s appearance in. He was tall and rather broad-shouldered, not quite ripped but he had some definition to him. Curly brown hair, blue eyes, and tan. 

He shifted awkwardly, the bouquet of golden cosmoses crinkling under the twitch of his hand. “I’m, uh, looking for Klaus?” he answered. Five’s face remained blank.

“Great. Who are you?”

The man opened his mouth to respond when two sets of footsteps sounded from behind Five. Diego popped his head out first, confusion written on his face.

“Everything okay?” he asked.

“Fine. Just _someone_ looking for Klaus,” Five said, fighting the urge to roll his eyes as he gestured to the mystery man. For all they knew, this man was an old dealer trying to win back his best client, or as Five feared, a commission goon sent to attack their family. Diego tensed, and Five figured he was most likely thinking the same things. His eye twitched as he went to respond--

“Looking for moi?” a voice interrupted. This time, Five did roll his eyes. “Whoever could it be?”

The man perked up at the sound of Klaus’ voice, and a smile ghosted his face as he came into view. But the moment Klaus saw the man, he froze. Diego nudged him, whispering a quiet “you okay?” as he watched his brother look over the visitor. Five almost shut the door on the man before he spoke.

“Hey,” he said softly. Klaus paled.

“Dave?”

As the man nodded with a bright smile, Klaus’ knees buckled and his eyes rolled back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> would anyone be interested in reading a role-reverse story where dave gets sent to 2019 instead of klaus? sounds weird but my history-loving self had a great idea


End file.
